1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to a die used to crimp an electrical connector onto an electrical conductor.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,772 discloses a compression tool ram with an electrical connector crimping surface having a pyramid shaped section and two flat sections on opposite sides of the pyramid shaped section. The flat sections are provided to prevent over-crimping of the electrical connector. FCI USA, Inc. sells electrical connector crimping dies known as "W" type dies. The "W" type dies form a general circumferential crimp around a barrel section of the electrical connector. The "W" type of dies are installed primarily in what is known as an industry "D3" die retaining groove.
The D3 groove is very common in mechanical hand held crimp tools such as the MD6 HYTOOL.TM. as well as hydraulic Tools such as the BAT500 BATOOL.TM. sold by FCI USA, Inc. The D3 groove can accommodate various "W" dies and hence can crimp a multitude of conductor/connector size combinations. The crimp range of the "W" die using a circumferential crimp profile is often limited to 500 kcmil Copper and 4/0 Aluminum for hydraulic tools. The need to expand the range for aluminum has become evident in the underground residential distribution market. More specifically, there is a desire to use tools which use "W" dies which are capable of crimping an electrical connector onto a relatively large 350 kcmil size aluminum conductor; which is not possible with conventional "W" dies.